Love Gives

Thursday, 2 April 2009
JOHN 3:16 NKJ
16 "For God so loved the world that He gave . . . .

His only son.”

GALATIANS 2:20 NKJ
20 ". . . I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave Himself for me.

EPHESIANS 5:25 NLT
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ
loved the church. He gave up his life for her

Love is only expressed through giving. If there is no giving,
there is no evidence that love exists. The only proof of love
is giving. Giving is the action that demonstrates love.

So, the measure of your giving is the measure of your love. The
more you give -- of yourself, your time, your attention, your
affection, your patience, your treasure -- the more you love.
This is what Jesus meant in John 15:13.

Love is an effort. Who am I giving to right now, at this very moment? I guess I am giving my time, my attention, my mind, my heart, my soul to the Lord through this devotion. That is how every day should start and continue. But it does. I love the Lord by loving others I meet throughout the day. Showing compassion on the needy. Lending a helping hand when I can. And that is why it hurts so much when I pass up an opportunity to help someone out of fear, selfishness, or weakness. It is because I am passing up my God. My King, my Lord. I am denying his children my aid.
But I am still torn…I don’t have endless amounts of money to give to beggars on the street.
Oh how I can so clearly hear in my ears the voice of the Almighty –

“You have plenty. I have provided for you so that you could share it with your brothers and sisters. You have never wanted for anything – that I have given you. That is some my love, that gift. You need to pass on the gift to others, for it was not meant for you to hold onto or to be yours alone.”

He is right. The Lord has done nothing but provide for me. Whilst saving for this trip, I was sure with every paycheck to commit my tithe of 10% back to the Lord. Some days I feared I wouldn’t have enough money for my journey or for all the exciting things I wanted to do. But as a friend once explained to me, that money is not mine. It was a gift from God and who am I to deny the provider one small request. Those checks were some of the biggest I have written and while part of my had to force my fingers to let them drop into the plate, the overwhelming sense of joy that I received after releasing that money from my wallet was incomparable. I felt like a I was making my Daddy proud in such a small and simple act and I had a huge feeling of relief. That a burden had been lifted from my shoulders, the burden of responsibility for the money. The responsibility to use my gifts in a way that please the Lord, that is not selfish, or succumbs to the materialism of this world. It is true; the bible says one cannot serve God and Money. I relieved and grateful to choose the Lord.


JOHN 15:13 NKJ
13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's
life for his friends.

Why did Jesus say there was no greater love than to give your
life? Because you can't give any more. That's total commitment!

I give my life to the Lord. Today and this day forward.

So, whenever you see "love" in a sentence, you may substitute
"giving" and express essentially the same meaning.

JOHN 13:35 NKJ
35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you
have love for one another."

Who will I give Love to today? A man on the street, a child with a smile, a grocery clerk with a bad day. There are so many opportunities not only to Love throughout my day. But to look for the Lord.

One of my favorite missions of our camp counselor bible study in the summer is to look for God throughout our day. You can see him in little acts of love, in the innocent children, in the beautiful nature around you, in a counselor’s effort for a child, in caring for the horses and God’s creation, but fostering true morals and holy virtues in the children that attend there. By worshiping on Sunday outside in the chapel area looking up at Old Bald watching over the breezy lake, or any day. In London perhaps.

So, I’m going to try something. I am going to try throughout my day to note the presence of God around me and report back to you. To show that he is out there. And to brighten my day. I encourage you to do the same and see what we find. Feel free to post your results in a comment. And if you’re reading this later than today – do it anyway. Come back to this when you have something to add – God calls us to witness to the world. To give testimony. This can be a place for testimony. For we are God’s disciples. And we are called to spread his love.

By understanding that love results in giving, we see that Jesus
indicated His disciples would be known for their giving. We are
to be famous for our giving! This is the way Jesus indicated
people would know His true followers: by their giving. (Not our
fighting, our preaching, or even our correct doctrine.)

We see in the early days of the church, this is exactly what
happened.

ACTS 4:34-35 NKJ
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were
possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the
proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to
each as anyone had need.

Don't think that your gifts should only go to churches and
preachers. Jesus made it clear that giving to any believer was
the same as giving to Him.

MATTHEW 25:40 NKJ
40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say
to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.'

But God has not called us to give to others just so we could
end up poor, also. NO! God has promised to multiply what we
give, so we will have more to give in the future.

LUKE 6:38 NKJ
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your
bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be
measured back to you."

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-8 NLT
6 Remember this -- a farmer who plants only a few seeds will
get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a
generous crop.
7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And
don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God
loves a person who gives cheerfully."
8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will
always have everything you need and plenty left over to share
with others.

As testimony, after relinquishing that tithe with fear that I would not have enough funds for my travels. I surpassed my savings goal by 60%. God will provide.

So, based on God's promises, we can give to others in faith,
with confidence that God will continue to supply all we need.

EPHESIANS 4:28 NKJ
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor,
working with his hands what is good, that he may have something
to give him who has need.

(This verse gives us an idea of how giving was paramount in the
thinking of early Christians.)

JOHN 15:12 NKJ
12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you.

If you desire to follow Jesus, love (giving) is not optional.

SAY THIS: As a disciple of Jesus, I will be a giver.

The WHITE text comes from a daily email devotional I recieve http://aDevotion.org/tell the bold words are things I want to emphasize